But the players clearly still believe in him and refused to accept defeat against a Villa side who twice led either side of halftime through Ciaran Clark and Jordan Ayew, the first time Villa have scored twice away since September.
In between Almen Abdi had equalised for Watford before Deeney settled matters late on with a close-range header after 90 minutes and a right-foot strike three minutes later that left Villa equalling a club record of 11 straight league defeats.
(Reporting by Neil Robinson; Editing by Ken Ferris)
